Uyghur
/ˈwiː.ɡər/noun
A member of a predominantly Muslim Turkic-speaking people native to Central Asia, especially the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China.
Did you know?The earliest known form of the name appears in an eighth-century Old Turkic inscription, while Chinese historical sources recorded the ethnonym in several different forms.
Etymological Timeline
8th Century
Old Turkic
Uyγur
“The earliest securely attested form of the ethnonym in Old Turkic inscriptions; its exact original meaning is debated.”
8th–9th Centuries
Chinese
回鶻 (Huíhú)
“A Chinese transcription used for the Uyghur polity and people during the Uyghur Khaganate.”
9th–13th Centuries
Middle Turkic
Uyġur / Uyγur
“The ethnonym continued in Turkic literary and historical traditions after the collapse of the Uyghur Khaganate.”
13th–17th Centuries
Persian and Chagatai
Uyġūr
“The name remained in Central Asian historical and literary writing, with spelling varying by script and language.”
19th Century
English
Uighur
“English adopted forms such as Uighur and Kashgari from European and Central Asian sources.”
Modern English
English
Uyghur
“The current widely used English spelling for the people, language, and culture.”